| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Port of registry |  United Kingdom |
| Route | Penzance to theIsles of Scilly |
| Ordered | 18 March 1954 |
| Builder | John I. Thornycroft & Company,Woolston, Southampton |
| Cost | £250,000 |
| Laid down | 25 March 1955 |
| Completed | 15 November 1955 |
| Maiden voyage | 23 March 1956 |
| In service | April 1956 |
| Out of service | 1998 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5315723 |
| Fate | Sank in 2004 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 921 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 208 ft (63.4 m) |
| Beam | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draught | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion | two 6-cylinderfour-strokediesel engines |
| Speed | 15.15 kn (28.1 km/h) |
| Capacity | 500 passengers |
| Crew | 14 |
Scillonian (also referred to asScillonian II or TSMVScillonian) was a passenger ferry built for theIsles of Scilly Steamship Company in 1955 byJohn I. Thornycroft & Company ofWoolston, Southampton. She was designed to carry 500 passengers and cargo betweenPenzance,Cornwall, to the offshoreIsles of Scilly.[1]
The ship was ordered on 18 March 1954 at a contract price of £250,000 (equivalent to £13,630,000 as of 2023),[2] planned as a replacement for the firstScillonian which had been in continuous service since 1926. The new ship was laid down on 25 March 1955, completed on 15 November 1955 and christened bythe Duchess of Gloucester. The secondScillonian was powered by two 6-cylinderfour-strokediesel engines (manufactured byRuston & Hornsby) which propelled two three-blade screws, giving the ship a maximum speed of 15.5 knots.[1]
The new passenger ferry made her first trip to the Isles of Scilly on 23 March 1956, sailing fromSouthampton toSt Mary's.[1] On her arrival, critics found the secondScillonian "too big, they will never hold her, not suitable or not as good a sea boat as the old boat" (the same had happened when the firstScillonian went into service in 1926 and would happen again withScillonian III in 1977).[3] Like her predecessor, the secondScillonian operated mainly between the Isles of Scilly and Penzance, although she sometimes diverted toFalmouth orSt Ives in bad weather. A frequent traveller aboard the ship wasHarold Wilson who had a holiday home in the Isles of Scilly. Between 1964 and 1966 she was joined on her route by theQueen of the Isles.Scillonian was eventually replaced byScillonian III in May 1977, and was sold toP & A Campbell.[4]
P & A Campbell renamed herDevonia and she joined theBalmoral, offering coastal cruises around theSouth Coast. In her first seasonDevonia deputised forBalmoral on theBristol Channel, and ran on theThames. P&A Campbell hoped to use her freight capacity to serveLundy, work eventually taken over by theOldenburg. Over the winter of 1977/1978,Devonia was chartered foroil rig ferry work atLoch Kishorn, before returning to the Bristol Channel. P & A Campbell ceased operations in 1980, after which the ship was acquired byTorbay Seaways and renamedDevoniun in 1982. She operated trips to the Channel Islands and local excursions from Torquay.[4] In 1984 she was sold toNorse Atlantic Ferries, and renamedSyllingar after arriving in theOrkney Islands in November 1984. She made up to two return trips each week betweenKirkwall,Westray andScalloway, plus additional cruises toFoula andFair Isle. Financial problems forced the service to cease in August 1985.[4] Following her period asSyllingar the ship was renamedRemvi in 1986, and ran across theAdriatic forHellenic Cruising Holidays until 1989. AsAfrica Queen she was operated by J.A.R. Atlantic Ocean Ltd ofBelize from 1989 to 1997 and sailed off West Africa. The latter company renamed her thePrincess Eliana in 1997 before her final sale in 1998 asOlga J to the Cypriot Greek ship-owner, John Christodoulo, who was director of Asterias Maritime, a company registered in Belize. The ship and her crew were finally abandoned by her owner inBourgas,Bulgaria[5] and she later sank there in 2004.[4]
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